The Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank Group kicked off on Wednesday, June 23, 2021 and will run until the end of the week. Initial discussions focus on African debt management, bold domestic reforms and efficient international support to revive African economies.

The resolution of the African debt was at the heart of discussions on June 23, during the first day of the Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB). Participants also stressed the need for domestic reforms and efficient international support to revive African economies and avoid the continent's over-indebtedness. "It is clear that without debt restructuring, many more African countries will face a situation of over-indebtedness," warns President Akinwumi Adesina.

In among the actions to boost African economies, AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina calls for a well-functioning African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). For him, it is more essential than ever to make the African Continental Free Trade Area work. To this end, he reassures that the AfDB will continue to invest in regional infrastructure and promote regional integration, including the integration of financial and capital markets. In the run-up to the 2021 edition of the Africa Investment Forum, the African Development Bank and its partners have already prepared a pipeline of 230 projects valued at $208 billion, in order to foster the prospects for operationalization of the African Continental Free Trade Area."

The issue of vaccines occupies a prominent place in AfDB meetings. Because, even though Africa is one of the continents least affected by the pandemic, it is being hit hard economically. That is why Africa should not beg for vaccines but produce them. " The African Development Bank will help Africa produce vaccines, as part of the African Union's vaccine plan. The Bank also plans to spend $3 billion on the development of the pharmaceutical industry in Africa," the AfDB chief said. Other challenges should be addressed to better ensure the recovery of economies. Among other things, the fight against corruption ; the efficiency of the expenditure ; budgetary discipline; building strong institutions for public spending; the fight against illicit financial flows; better financial management; strengthening the links between debt, growth and governance ; the digitization of the collection and expenditure circuit, to name but a few.